Trump-Backed Paxton Defeats Cornyn In Texas Senate Clash

Texas voters on Tuesday voted to oust Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), handing the longtime incumbent a devastating defeat and delivering a sharp rebuke to the Republican establishment in Washington.

Decision Desk HQ called the race for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at 8 p.m. central time with Paxton leading Cornyn by 25 points, with roughly 57% of the vote counted.

Paxton’s landslide victory deals a major blow to the Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who repeatedly urged Trump to back Cornyn, a four-term senator and longtime fixture in GOP leadership. Cornyn previously chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee and served as Senate Majority Whip. 

“Sen. Cornyn is a principled conservative. He is a very effective senator for the state of Texas, but none of us control what the president does,” Thune said of Trump’s 11th-hour endorsement. “That doesn’t change the way I feel.”

Q: “How personally disappointed or frustrated are you with the president’s decision to endorse Ken Paxton today?”

.@LeaderJohnThune: “Sen. Cornyn is a principled conservative. He is a very effective senator for the state of Texas…None of us control what the president does.” pic.twitter.com/5QglYxRp1V

— CSPAN (@cspan) May 19, 2026

Cornyn is the latest incumbent – and second senator to fall – amid Trump’s campaign to purge Republicans he views as disloyal to his agenda. In recent weeks, the Trump endorsement has led to losses by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and a handful of Indiana Republicans who bucked the president’s redistricting effort.

Paxton has emerged as a fierce MAGA firebrand on a range of issues, using his office to protect women’s sports, defending Texas A&M’s decision to ban a campus drag show, and prosecuting a woman who performed illegal abortions.

With all eyes on Texas, Trump ended months of suspense last Tuesday and threw his political clout behind Paxton. 

“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump said on Truth Social. 

“John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough…” he added.

On the campaign trail, Paxton seized the moment. 

“I am so honored to have President Trump’s endorsement,” Paxton said. “When he endorses, it has a tremendous impact…I think it creates a slight bit of momentum, don’t you?”

Texas AG & U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton (R) speaks after receiving President Trump’s endorsement: “When he endorses, it has a tremendous impact…I think it creates a slight bit of momentum, don’t you?” pic.twitter.com/cGFSrteLV4

— CSPAN (@cspan) May 19, 2026

When neither Paxton nor Cornyn surpassed the 50% threshold in the initial vote — triggering a runoff — both campaigns stepped up an intense jockeying for Trump’s support.

Paxton raised eyebrows for saying he would consider dropping out of the race if the Senate passed the SAVE America Act.

“John Cornyn is a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill,” Paxton said.

Cornyn wrote in a op-ed that he had previously backed the “60-vote threshold to protect the country,” but said that “when the reality on the ground changes, leaders must take stock and adapt.”

The Senate’s failure to pass the SAVE America Act appeared to sway Trump.

“I know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER! Ken is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and, very importantly, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, something which polls at 87%, including Dumocrats, and yet can’t seem to get approved,” Trump said in his Truth Social endorsement. “Perhaps Ken can help move these important elements of Government forward…”

Turning Point Action backed Paxton, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee spent millions supporting Cornyn.

Some party leaders worry Paxton — who was nearly convicted on corruption-related impeachment charges — could put a reliably Republican seat at risk. His wife filed for divorce in 2025, citing adultery on “biblical grounds.”

In November, Paxton will face off against Democratic candidate James Talarico, whom Trump recently ripped into as “weird.”

“I’ll tell you what I do think — I think the Democrats have a weird, a weird candidate. Six genders, a real hit on Jesus,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “I mean, this guy is bad news with his mask from relatively recently, and he’s a vegan. He’s a vegan. All of a sudden, he’s not a vegan. He was a vegan, now all of a sudden he’s not.”

“Texas doesn’t like vegans. I do believe either one of them will easily win the race. I think the candidate the Democrats have in Texas is a very flawed, very weak, very — I think he’s a pathetic candidate, especially for Texas,” the president added.

NEW AD:

Low T Talarico is too WEAK and WEIRD for Texas. #TXsen pic.twitter.com/B6wL7pto4S

— Lone Star Liberty PAC (@LoneStar_PAC) May 21, 2026